Single Pass Albumin Dialysis and Plasma Exchange for Copper Toxicity in Acute Wilson Disease

Wilson disease (WD) is a disorder of copper metabolism that results in accumulation of copper in tissues. In acute WD, patients present with fulminant hepatic failure, encephalopathy, and hemolytic anemia due to copper release from necrotic hepatocytes. Many will require life-saving liver transplantation. Extracorporeal liver support systems can provide a bridge to transplantation for critically ill patients. We report our experience with 2 patients for whom we used a combination of plasma exchange (PLEX) and single pass albumin dialysis (SPAD), or SPAD alone as a bridge to liver transplantation.

A 17-year-old girl (patient 1) and a 12-year-old boy (patient 2) presented with fulminant hepatic failure, hemolytic anemia, and acute kidney injury. Patient 1 received SPAD on days 2 and 3 (total 32 h). Serum copper decreased from 22.3 to 15.9 µmol/L (28.7% decrease), measured after 28 h of continuous SPAD. She underwent successful liver transplantation on day 4 after presentation. Patient 2 was treated with PLEX on days 1, 3, 4, and 5 and with SPAD on days 3-6. Serum copper decreased from 48.7 to 25.8 µmol/L (47% decrease) after the first session of PLEX and from 35.5 to 21.5 µmol/L (39.4% decrease) after the second session. The serum copper level was 16.2 µmol/L after 4 sessions of PLEX (and ongoing SPAD), with an overall 66.7% reduction in copper levels over 5 days combining both therapies. He underwent successful liver transplantation on day 6.

We conclude that SPAD, with or without PLEX, is effective in reducing serum copper levels as a bridge to liver transplantation in WD. PLEX may be more efficient at removing copper but is associated with a rebound increase in copper levels between sessions.